jueves, 24 de enero de 2013

I took this photo in maybe my first complete day in Guadalajara, over a year ago now. I hadn't yet come to know the city's quirks or understand its charm. I was unaware of the unreliable and unpredictable public transport system, of the street food and tapatío specialties such as tejuino and jericalla, and the almost unchanging weather. Still unaccustomed to the lack of punctuality and the lack of haste of the people, I settled into this foreign city and made it my home. The architecture, the traffic, the food, the people, the Mexican slang, the no pasa nada attitude... while there were still surprises along the way, over time everything became more or less natural, expected.

For just over a year I called Guadalajara 'home', and let its charms entice me. Having just made it back to Australia (like an adopted child, I have started to think of Australia as my 'birth home' rather than my actual home)... things don't feel the same as when I left them. Everything seems to come with a certain superficiality, maybe even sterility... but maybe that comes from the whole first world thing. Slowly the differences are becoming less jarring, but I don't think the 'Lucky Country' will ever be the same for me again... Maybe I left my heart in Mexico.

lunes, 21 de enero de 2013

The scales of the sleeping snake that is the street below, form from the glittering of paving; wet from earlier showers. A passing taxi bringing life to the serpent, forming a head maybe, as he shuttles along, kicking up water from the snake's back, letting it fall in his wake.

Perched up on the ledge of the building beside the serpentine street, while the echoes of the fireworks reverberated, maybe not through the damp air that seemed to hang over the evening, watching, but through the people for whom the burst of light were also bursts of hope for the coming year. I watched the lying serpent wake and sleep with passing cars over and over, as my boyfriend held me, not trusting me so close to the edge. New Year's Eve 2012...

I hadn't realised that in Mexico, New Year's Eve is more of a family affair, despite the warnings of my boyfriend. The idea just seemed so foreign to me, that subconsciously I'd instantly rejected it. The quietness of the streets was eerie, and the intermittent rain and the heavy clouds above, waiting impatiently to dump their heavy loads on whoever happened to pass below, ominous. But the distant fireworks seemed to be trying desperately, yet weakly, to offer promises for the new year. It's yet to be seen if those far-off sparks of hope will last out 2013.

Datos personales

An anthropologist with a strong interest in understandings of, and relationships with, "nature"; language; the dynamics of cross-cultural projects and religion, particularly within the context of Australia and Mexico.
I'm also really keen to take anthropology out of the ivory tower and to apply it to the world, particularly through community-based and cross-cultural projects.